village green
Member
Another vote for the old defoliate. If your just pheno hunting at this point, I would flip them earlier next time.
Doc Crow's Medicine Cabinet. 420 W CFL powered Perpetual Micro SOG PPK
- Thread starter DocCrow
- Start date
TexMex McDirt
Active member
Damn Doc Crow, I don't know how I haven't seen this thread till now. I love your setup! You also have some nice genetics going. I have never read the PPK stuff before. Seems like an excellent choice for maintaining a micro SOG. It really looks like you are doing a great job of dialing things in. You sure did your research, respect for that. I enjoy seeing folks who read a bit before jumping in. I. Don't have much to add, other than good work and I am definitely going to keep an eye on this. I don't have room for the PPK system in my setup, but I like it a lot. Looking forward to how you evolve this. If you could, I'd love to see some pics of the pot with the tailpipe bit. I am curious as to how that looks. Great job man, props, big time.
Happy farming, stay safe!
Mahalo,
Tex
Happy farming, stay safe!
Mahalo,
Tex
DocCrow
Member
PPK Syatem Info
PPK Syatem Info
Ok here is my PPK breakdown
First a bit of general Knowledge. PPK is at it's core a wick fed Hydro system. The plants are fed via a wick of whatever medium you are growing in. Some acceptable mediums for this method are Coco, Turface, Vermiculite mixtures, etc. I use Coco (GH CocoTek) straight up, no pearlite or anything. The plants are potted in the container of your choice (sized by the size plants you want to grow) with a 1 1/2" plumbing tailpiece coming out of the bottom.
My pots are MT38 Treepots from Stuewe & Sons. They are 3"x3"x8", hold 1 Liter of coco and come with a hole in the bottom that is sized perfectly to accept a 1 1/2"dia plumbing tailpiece. The tailpiece has a flange on the top. "Amazing Plumbing Goop" is applied to the bottom of the flange to adhere the 2 pieces together.
There is a screen affixed in the bottom of the tailpiece to hold the medium and the roots in the pot and out of the reservoir. This is a key part of the PPK. It keeps the roots out of the reservoir allowing the coco to act as a buffer. The tailpiece is loosely packed with the same medium the plant is in. This sits in the Control Reservoir, wicking moisture and nutrients up into the pot to feed the plant. The moisture profile of the coco is controlled by the water level in the control reservoir. If it is too wet (plants show signs of over watering) then you lower the water level. If the top layer of medium dries out then raise the water level. By doing this (adjusting the air gap between the bottom of the pots(not the tailpiece) and the top of the water) you are controlling the level of the perched water table. I'm not going into detail here all you really need to know is what I put here. If you want to know more it is discussed extensively in the Passive Plant Killer thread just do a search for perched water table or PWT.
An Overview of the system as I have adapted for multiple sites in a small space. Simple and effective.
The Control Reservoir. Cover has 36 sites in a 3"x3" grid 4 rows x 9. It could be any size and have any number of sites. 4 for a multi strain scrog, 144 in a 4'x4'x6" reservoir, it is easily adapted. If I run into issues at my current density (16psf) I can easily make a new cover with less sites. The control res is constructed of plywood coated with a 24 hour epoxy to waterproof it. Simple and easy to make.
Inside of the control reservoir. It is 6" deep. My tailpieces are also 6" long. The cover is ~1/2" thick so this leaves a small gap between the bottom of the tailpiece and the bottom of the res. Also you see the white float valve. This is connected to the Bulk reservoir that keeps this thing fed. It is adjustable, and is set to maintain a 3" air gap between the bottom of the pots and the top of the water.
In the back right corner is the pump for the saturation pulses. There is a hose (not shown) that goes to a manifold that distributes the water to a line for each pot. I will be pulse feeding to the point of saturation every 2 hours. This will serve a few main purposes. Left alone in the PPK evaporation is greatest in the top layer of the coco. The pulse keeps the salt levels (ec) in the coco and the reservoir balanced. Applying a large enough pulse of water will also provide a thorough exchange of gases throughout the medium (similar to ebb & flow). I will show more of how my pulse feed system is set up in a later post as I have a few issues to work out still.
Bulk Res is a standard 18 Gal Rubbermaid Tote. I used a brass fitting to connect the line to the res. The thin piece of wood adds a bit of thickness and made it easier to waterproof. Used kinda like a washer. I think that with 10 gallons of nutes it will keep the PPK fed when fully stocked with 36 clones for 10-14 days. That is as long as I could possibly stay away without interrupting the perpetual cycle.
I use Jacks nutrients from J.R. Peters. I use the Jacks Hydro and the Calc-Nit. I mix 2 tsp of Jacks and 1 1/2 tsp of Calc-Nit per gallon of water. Per the instructions for each this should mix the 2 at a ratio of roughly 1:0.66 and end up with a solution of roughly 660PPM (EC 1.2). I don't have an TDS meter or a PH pen yet. This seems to be stable and all of my plants are healthy so I will roll with this until chance is necessary. Easy and CHEAP. 25lb for $35.
This is the PPK in a nutshell. I hope this clears up questions, but this is how I adapted the designs of Delta9nxs, Oldone, ImaginaryFriend and other soldiers in the PPK army to a Micro SOG.
Why did I do this? I felt the perpetual SOG is the best way to maximize a small space to grow in. As I am just growing for personal meds I do not want to devote a large space, plus due to my legal status in the state I currently live I would like to have a bit of stealth to avoid LEO. I also get bored smoking one strain all of the time. This eliminated a SCROG, the other preferred method of cabinet cultivation. I think if I can keep the environment stable and get the strains dialed to my space I can exceed 1 GPW every 9 weeks. 400 grams from 400 watts of CFL in ~2.5 sq' of space.
This PPK and the cabinet itself are V 1.0 of my setup. I am working out the kinks of my designs and methods. I plan on using a slightly larger, and more secure metal cabinet with electronic locks and stuff. It will house a flower chamber (slightly larger than my current one), a veg/clone chamber, a drying chamber, and a utility area. All reservoirs, pumps, fans, filters, etc will be housed within the cabinet. I want it to be a completely self contained unit that I can just run an extension cord and a water line to. The cabinets are like $600 so I want to get my design right and proven before I start purchasing and fabrication.
As always feel free to comment, question etc freely
My pulse manifold design and issues coming up.
DC
PPK Syatem Info
Ok here is my PPK breakdown
First a bit of general Knowledge. PPK is at it's core a wick fed Hydro system. The plants are fed via a wick of whatever medium you are growing in. Some acceptable mediums for this method are Coco, Turface, Vermiculite mixtures, etc. I use Coco (GH CocoTek) straight up, no pearlite or anything. The plants are potted in the container of your choice (sized by the size plants you want to grow) with a 1 1/2" plumbing tailpiece coming out of the bottom.
My pots are MT38 Treepots from Stuewe & Sons. They are 3"x3"x8", hold 1 Liter of coco and come with a hole in the bottom that is sized perfectly to accept a 1 1/2"dia plumbing tailpiece. The tailpiece has a flange on the top. "Amazing Plumbing Goop" is applied to the bottom of the flange to adhere the 2 pieces together.
There is a screen affixed in the bottom of the tailpiece to hold the medium and the roots in the pot and out of the reservoir. This is a key part of the PPK. It keeps the roots out of the reservoir allowing the coco to act as a buffer. The tailpiece is loosely packed with the same medium the plant is in. This sits in the Control Reservoir, wicking moisture and nutrients up into the pot to feed the plant. The moisture profile of the coco is controlled by the water level in the control reservoir. If it is too wet (plants show signs of over watering) then you lower the water level. If the top layer of medium dries out then raise the water level. By doing this (adjusting the air gap between the bottom of the pots(not the tailpiece) and the top of the water) you are controlling the level of the perched water table. I'm not going into detail here all you really need to know is what I put here. If you want to know more it is discussed extensively in the Passive Plant Killer thread just do a search for perched water table or PWT.
An Overview of the system as I have adapted for multiple sites in a small space. Simple and effective.
The Control Reservoir. Cover has 36 sites in a 3"x3" grid 4 rows x 9. It could be any size and have any number of sites. 4 for a multi strain scrog, 144 in a 4'x4'x6" reservoir, it is easily adapted. If I run into issues at my current density (16psf) I can easily make a new cover with less sites. The control res is constructed of plywood coated with a 24 hour epoxy to waterproof it. Simple and easy to make.
Inside of the control reservoir. It is 6" deep. My tailpieces are also 6" long. The cover is ~1/2" thick so this leaves a small gap between the bottom of the tailpiece and the bottom of the res. Also you see the white float valve. This is connected to the Bulk reservoir that keeps this thing fed. It is adjustable, and is set to maintain a 3" air gap between the bottom of the pots and the top of the water.
In the back right corner is the pump for the saturation pulses. There is a hose (not shown) that goes to a manifold that distributes the water to a line for each pot. I will be pulse feeding to the point of saturation every 2 hours. This will serve a few main purposes. Left alone in the PPK evaporation is greatest in the top layer of the coco. The pulse keeps the salt levels (ec) in the coco and the reservoir balanced. Applying a large enough pulse of water will also provide a thorough exchange of gases throughout the medium (similar to ebb & flow). I will show more of how my pulse feed system is set up in a later post as I have a few issues to work out still.
Bulk Res is a standard 18 Gal Rubbermaid Tote. I used a brass fitting to connect the line to the res. The thin piece of wood adds a bit of thickness and made it easier to waterproof. Used kinda like a washer. I think that with 10 gallons of nutes it will keep the PPK fed when fully stocked with 36 clones for 10-14 days. That is as long as I could possibly stay away without interrupting the perpetual cycle.
I use Jacks nutrients from J.R. Peters. I use the Jacks Hydro and the Calc-Nit. I mix 2 tsp of Jacks and 1 1/2 tsp of Calc-Nit per gallon of water. Per the instructions for each this should mix the 2 at a ratio of roughly 1:0.66 and end up with a solution of roughly 660PPM (EC 1.2). I don't have an TDS meter or a PH pen yet. This seems to be stable and all of my plants are healthy so I will roll with this until chance is necessary. Easy and CHEAP. 25lb for $35.
This is the PPK in a nutshell. I hope this clears up questions, but this is how I adapted the designs of Delta9nxs, Oldone, ImaginaryFriend and other soldiers in the PPK army to a Micro SOG.
Why did I do this? I felt the perpetual SOG is the best way to maximize a small space to grow in. As I am just growing for personal meds I do not want to devote a large space, plus due to my legal status in the state I currently live I would like to have a bit of stealth to avoid LEO. I also get bored smoking one strain all of the time. This eliminated a SCROG, the other preferred method of cabinet cultivation. I think if I can keep the environment stable and get the strains dialed to my space I can exceed 1 GPW every 9 weeks. 400 grams from 400 watts of CFL in ~2.5 sq' of space.
This PPK and the cabinet itself are V 1.0 of my setup. I am working out the kinks of my designs and methods. I plan on using a slightly larger, and more secure metal cabinet with electronic locks and stuff. It will house a flower chamber (slightly larger than my current one), a veg/clone chamber, a drying chamber, and a utility area. All reservoirs, pumps, fans, filters, etc will be housed within the cabinet. I want it to be a completely self contained unit that I can just run an extension cord and a water line to. The cabinets are like $600 so I want to get my design right and proven before I start purchasing and fabrication.
As always feel free to comment, question etc freely
My pulse manifold design and issues coming up.
DC
DocCrow
Member
My Current Pulse Manifold and My Dilemma
My Current Pulse Manifold and My Dilemma
Here is my current setup to deliver my saturation pulses to my 36 sites. It starts with a small (like 70 GPH) pond pump. It runs through a 12"OD line to a 24" long PVC pipe. The pipe has 36 1/4" OD lines running to the pots. The ends of each line have a zip tie on the end of it. The tag end of the zip tie is used like a stake to keep the end of the line in the pot.
2" PVC with 26 1/4" lines and one 1/2" line running out of it mounted on the back wall of the cabinet above the level of the pots.
Detail showing the end of the pulse lines with the zip tie around it staked into the pots.
HERE IS MY PROBLEM
My design is flawed. When I turn on the pump the water flows readily out of some of the lines and does not flow at all out of others. I suspect this is due to the the pump being too small, but I figured I would check here before spending more dough. I used this pump as it was one I had kicking around. Do you think the 2" pvc is too large in dia? Would it work better and get even flow out of all of them with a larger pump and smaller dia manifold? I want it to be a fairly even flow across the whole board, but it needs to be fairly slow as the timer I have only adjusts in 1 min increments.
Anyone with experience in something like this? I need to keep it cheap and simple.
Should I go for a 150GPH pump or a 300GPH?
Stick with the 2" manifold I already made or make another out of 1" PVC?
Should I scrap this design in favor of your, better and proven design?
Getting this figured out is a MUST. I can't be hand watering plants and shit.
Please Help. Or I am gonna end up making 5 different things before I get it right.
DC
My Current Pulse Manifold and My Dilemma
Here is my current setup to deliver my saturation pulses to my 36 sites. It starts with a small (like 70 GPH) pond pump. It runs through a 12"OD line to a 24" long PVC pipe. The pipe has 36 1/4" OD lines running to the pots. The ends of each line have a zip tie on the end of it. The tag end of the zip tie is used like a stake to keep the end of the line in the pot.
2" PVC with 26 1/4" lines and one 1/2" line running out of it mounted on the back wall of the cabinet above the level of the pots.
Detail showing the end of the pulse lines with the zip tie around it staked into the pots.
HERE IS MY PROBLEM
My design is flawed. When I turn on the pump the water flows readily out of some of the lines and does not flow at all out of others. I suspect this is due to the the pump being too small, but I figured I would check here before spending more dough. I used this pump as it was one I had kicking around. Do you think the 2" pvc is too large in dia? Would it work better and get even flow out of all of them with a larger pump and smaller dia manifold? I want it to be a fairly even flow across the whole board, but it needs to be fairly slow as the timer I have only adjusts in 1 min increments.
Anyone with experience in something like this? I need to keep it cheap and simple.
Should I go for a 150GPH pump or a 300GPH?
Stick with the 2" manifold I already made or make another out of 1" PVC?
Should I scrap this design in favor of your, better and proven design?
Getting this figured out is a MUST. I can't be hand watering plants and shit.
Please Help. Or I am gonna end up making 5 different things before I get it right.
DC
village green
Member
Hey DocCrow,
I'm no expert but I seem to remember in the Wicked Pulse thread there is discussion about sizing your pump. I believe you would add your total volume of media plus roots to figure the gph you'll need for either a longer, less forceful pulse or shorter and more forceful pulse. With that many lines I would run them off, say four, main lines you can adjust with flow valves.
I'm no expert but I seem to remember in the Wicked Pulse thread there is discussion about sizing your pump. I believe you would add your total volume of media plus roots to figure the gph you'll need for either a longer, less forceful pulse or shorter and more forceful pulse. With that many lines I would run them off, say four, main lines you can adjust with flow valves.
DocCrow
Member
Thanks if you google Stuewe & Son mini tree pot you will find em. Just give em a call and you can order any quantity you want. I think they worked out to 60 cents per after shipping. As far as yield I will not argue anything yet, but I think from other similar setups I can hit 7g per cut easy. I think dialed in some strains will hit 14-16. I won't know till I try. Even at 7 g per cut if I can maintain 4 in and out every week over every 9 week cycle that is 250g per cycle or about an oz per week. That is .625g per watt. 11 G per cut is 1g per watt which is my goal. (gotta have a goal man, keep you moving forward)
Thanks for the props Tex. I have followed your grow and you along with the good Dr Bud, and others were big influences. Any advice you can give me on running a micro sog would be appreciated greatly.
I will go in and thin these girls out a bit tomorrow I think. I am not gonna do too much at this point though, as I have the extra room. In 1 week the perpetual cycles start going in. Those will all be manicured weekly once in. I think I will run off the schedule posted by silverhazefiend.
defoliated the bottom 2/3s of the plant at 21 days ..second at 42 days 1/3 of the bottom and 63 days was the last defoliate
Thanks all!
DC
village green
Member
Also, you could run four hoses atop the rows using in-line emitters.
DocCrow
Member
Based off your suggestions I have come up with a different Idea. a stronger pump (i will figure it out) hooked up to 1/2" tubing. Tubing runs to 1" PVC mounted on the side wall as a manifold. 4 1/4" lines run out of this 1" manifold. Each 1/4" line has 9 inline pressure compensating emitters on it. This should ensure that as long as the system maintains a high enough pressure every emitter will flow at a constant rate, correct? I don't have much irrigation experience.
I guess I need to figure out exactly how much water to pulse first. then I can figure out the pump size emitter size etc
DC
petemoss
Active member
Nice setup, DocCrow! Can't believe I haven't seen this thread until now, but I've been busy with my own mini PPK SOG. To get even flow to all your pots you need higher pressure, as you've figured out already. Here's a PVC feed manifold that Pico uses to top drip. Made of 1" PVC with top hat grommets feeding 1/4" drip tubing to each pot. I'm currently using 28 3" pots in a perpetual SOG. My pump is only 170 gph but may upgrade to a 250 gph pump soon. Based on my experience I think you'd need at least 250 gph for 36 pots. But that depends mostly on the height from your pump to the feed lines. I have a two foot lift.
D
Dr.RedWhite
Actually I just go off of what Delta9nxs calculates in his PPK thread. Do a search for Jacks 5-12-26 in the Nutrients and fertylizer forum on this site. Your deficiency problem could be a lock out issue from having too much fert in your solution.
DocCrow
Member
Pete, god to see ya in here. Another PPK SOG??? C'mon man, don't hold out on me. Make with the pics and info.
petemoss
Active member
Hey DocCrow, I really like the way you researched and planned out your grow. It seems we've reached many of the same conclusions as to the best growing, watering and nutrient methods for our cab grows. When I first started my cab grow, I was blown away with DrBudGreengene's threads in the GrassCity and ICMag forums. He's a true expert and his high density perpetual SOG is IMO the best yielding method for small personal grows. I tried to copy his system but with a 250 watt HPS for flowering. The first pic is my first harvest exactly four years ago. I knew then that I had found my holy grail.
Hand watering took too much time, so I looked for a way to automate the process, first with a flood and drain setup using hydroton and then with coco. My yields suffered because the coco held too much water and I was drowning my roots. Finally Delta9 convinced me to try Jack's Hydroponic and his PPK setup. The wicks worked like a charm and I'm getting 10-15 gram plantlets again. The second pic was my last harvest just a couple of days ago and the third pic is my current flower box.
I posted some pics in the PPK thread in March or April showing how I converted my E&F setup to wick sub-irrigation but I just can't find them! Somewhere around page 210 it starts. I'll try to find a link...
here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5024033&postcount=3136
and here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5040291&postcount=3177
I'm using 3" square pots but they are only half as tall as yours. I may try some taller ones soon. Are they thick enough to reuse?
I'm suprised you don't have burned tips with such a strong feed. When I mixed 1/2 teaspoon of Jacks and 1/2 teaspoon Calcinit I got
1.2 EC (600ppm). D9 estimated 2.1 EC for 1/2 tsp of each. Guess it depends on what kind of teaspoon you use! Tell me how you are mixing the two parts cause something is way off here. D9 suggested a ratio of 1 Jacks to 0.67 CaNO3 by weight for people not using meters. When mixing by volume, you should use equal volumes of each.
Hand watering took too much time, so I looked for a way to automate the process, first with a flood and drain setup using hydroton and then with coco. My yields suffered because the coco held too much water and I was drowning my roots. Finally Delta9 convinced me to try Jack's Hydroponic and his PPK setup. The wicks worked like a charm and I'm getting 10-15 gram plantlets again. The second pic was my last harvest just a couple of days ago and the third pic is my current flower box.
I posted some pics in the PPK thread in March or April showing how I converted my E&F setup to wick sub-irrigation but I just can't find them! Somewhere around page 210 it starts. I'll try to find a link...
here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5024033&postcount=3136
and here: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5040291&postcount=3177
I'm using 3" square pots but they are only half as tall as yours. I may try some taller ones soon. Are they thick enough to reuse?
I'm suprised you don't have burned tips with such a strong feed. When I mixed 1/2 teaspoon of Jacks and 1/2 teaspoon Calcinit I got
1.2 EC (600ppm). D9 estimated 2.1 EC for 1/2 tsp of each. Guess it depends on what kind of teaspoon you use! Tell me how you are mixing the two parts cause something is way off here. D9 suggested a ratio of 1 Jacks to 0.67 CaNO3 by weight for people not using meters. When mixing by volume, you should use equal volumes of each.
DocCrow
Member
My thought process was identical when researching and designing my cab and PPK. Comparing out setups they seem similar. If I can average 10-15g plantlets then I will be super happy. It seems that great minds truly do think alike!
Yes you can reuse them. They are 8" tall pots, I think I may reduce the amount of coco I put in each to give more room for my saturation pulses (so they don't overflow) and help control growth a little bit. These things are growing wild right now.
so when you mix 1/2 a teaspoon of each you get an ec of 1.2? damn I am way off. I am mixing by volume, and used the info on the JR Peters website for my figure out how much to feed.
here it is
Jacks Hydro
Calcium Nitrate
This info tells me 2 tsp of Jacks per gallon = 376ppm and 1.33 tsp of jacks calc nit = 268 ppm for a total if ~650 ppm
IS THIS WRONG? seems like it is if your mix 1/2 tsp per and get 1.2 ec which is what I am shooting for. I'm gonna adjust my mixture. are you mixing 1/2 a teaspoon of tablespoon? I have not seen any nute burn on my plants, just a slight calcium deficiency on a couple of the Mandala Safari Mix strains. Either way I think with nutes less can be more, so I will change my mix to 1/2 tsp of each per gallon.
I think I need a meter. I am going to add a few gallons of RO to my Bulk res to thin it out a bit and see if they look hungry or not. Maybe if I bring some samples into my hydro shop they will test em for me.
DC
This post should be stickied somewhere
. Best explaination of a ppk i've seen, good visual aids too. They are very simple, and yet so many people seem confused about function and setup. Excellent job doc 
. I'll k+ ya when I can.
TexMex McDirt
Active member
petemoss
Active member
Doc, where did you get that screen capture of Jacks Hydroponic? When I go to this site http://www.jrpeters.com/Products/Hydroponics.html
I get a completely different page. If you scroll down, it says
"On a small scale, the easiest way to use our Jack’s Hydroponic System is to create a ready-to-use solution by combining ½ teaspoon of each formulation per gallon of water-just make sure you do not combine them in any stronger concentrations or the materials will solidify and drop to the bottom of the solution." Very strange.
never mind, I see it now. You are going to http://www.jrpeters.com/Products/Ja...ecialty-Crop-Formulas/5-12-26-Hydroponic.html
DC, your calculations are correct if you go by what JR Peters says on their web page. However, they don't say what conversion rate they are using when giving a ppm number. 1.2EC is equivalent to 600 ppm at 0.5 conversion but at 0.7 conversion, 1.2 EC would be equal to 840 ppm. That's why it's always better to state nute strength in EC. I'll try calling them and see if they can explain their ppm figures.
I get a completely different page. If you scroll down, it says
"On a small scale, the easiest way to use our Jack’s Hydroponic System is to create a ready-to-use solution by combining ½ teaspoon of each formulation per gallon of water-just make sure you do not combine them in any stronger concentrations or the materials will solidify and drop to the bottom of the solution." Very strange.
never mind, I see it now. You are going to http://www.jrpeters.com/Products/Ja...ecialty-Crop-Formulas/5-12-26-Hydroponic.html
DC, your calculations are correct if you go by what JR Peters says on their web page. However, they don't say what conversion rate they are using when giving a ppm number. 1.2EC is equivalent to 600 ppm at 0.5 conversion but at 0.7 conversion, 1.2 EC would be equal to 840 ppm. That's why it's always better to state nute strength in EC. I'll try calling them and see if they can explain their ppm figures.
Last edited:
DocCrow
Member
I have seen it clumping up in the bottom of the bulk res. I stopped at the shop earlier and picked up a cheap hanna tds meter so I won't have to worry bout it. I figured ec 0.72 for the Jacks and then add calc nit at ec 0.48 for a 1.2 total. I'm gonna go test the bulk res and control res now. I was hoping to not have to buy any meters, but oh well it was only $25 and will pay for itself.
I also got a 250 gph pump to try out. If it is still funky I will get some 2gph PC emitters.
This post should be stickied somewhere
Appreciate it guys, just trying to pay it forward for all the incredible information I've read on here, plus it puts it all in one place for me too.
DC
hey doc, what jrpeters is showing there is the nitrogen level.
per gal mix a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of each part. by heaping i mean as much as you can balance on the spoon. this ends up being around 3/8 teaspoon. mix in the jack's first and then the calcinit.
this will give you between 600-700 ppm at the .5 conversion or ec 1.2-1.4. this is all you need for an input as the level will build in time. unless you are using co2 then you want 1000-1100 pm.
if you now have a meter and ro water mix 360 ppm jack's first and 240 ppm calcinit on top of that.
this is absolutely correct and will work fine.
nice job with the plywood and epoxy. i'm an old boat builder and have used a lot of resins.
the only thing i see that you might want to consider modifying is the float set up. the way you have it works but allows an excess of nutrients to input with each pulse. if you were to mount the float in a smaller chamber inside of your reservoir with a small hole in it like i built for my res in the wicked pulse thread you will have greater solution stability.
a bunch of small mixing, blending events are better than a few larger ones for chemical and ph reasons.
per gal mix a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of each part. by heaping i mean as much as you can balance on the spoon. this ends up being around 3/8 teaspoon. mix in the jack's first and then the calcinit.
this will give you between 600-700 ppm at the .5 conversion or ec 1.2-1.4. this is all you need for an input as the level will build in time. unless you are using co2 then you want 1000-1100 pm.
if you now have a meter and ro water mix 360 ppm jack's first and 240 ppm calcinit on top of that.
this is absolutely correct and will work fine.
nice job with the plywood and epoxy. i'm an old boat builder and have used a lot of resins.
the only thing i see that you might want to consider modifying is the float set up. the way you have it works but allows an excess of nutrients to input with each pulse. if you were to mount the float in a smaller chamber inside of your reservoir with a small hole in it like i built for my res in the wicked pulse thread you will have greater solution stability.
a bunch of small mixing, blending events are better than a few larger ones for chemical and ph reasons.
village green
Member
Hope you win the Woodworking Award tonight Ron. The chair looks great.
DocCrow
Member
Checked ppm with meter. meter reads up to 1999ppm. EC was off the charts. Mixing up a new batch of nutes tomorrow. I can't believe I have not fried them. I can't wait to see how they grow with a proper dose of nutes.
Clones are rooting, and I have some Blueberry seeds sprouted. Starting this week I will put 4 clones per week into the cabinet, and start logging starting heights so I can get this thing running like a freight train. Clones will be going in small to start. It will be easier to deal with plants not growing quite tall enough than growing so tall I need to train it into another plants space. Thinking 3-5 inches should be the sweet spot for most hybrids.
Clones are rooting, and I have some Blueberry seeds sprouted. Starting this week I will put 4 clones per week into the cabinet, and start logging starting heights so I can get this thing running like a freight train. Clones will be going in small to start. It will be easier to deal with plants not growing quite tall enough than growing so tall I need to train it into another plants space. Thinking 3-5 inches should be the sweet spot for most hybrids.
